Republicans in the Senate are so down and out, they’re losing their belief in themselves and their party to enact change, one prominent member said on Sunday.

“The biggest surprise has been the defeatist attitude of many Republicans in Washington,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, a tea party favorite, during an interview with The Dallas Morning News. “A lot of Republicans feel beaten down and that there was nothing they could do to stop the erosion of liberty in this country.”

“Indeed, if you look at the vote on sequester, the filibuster on drone strikes and the vote on defunding Obamacare, for three weeks in a row, Republicans have stood together on principle,” he said in The Dallas Morning News report. “I believe we are winning the argument.”